Chapter 225 Strange Fragrance
The one being scolded was Concubine Xiao from the side hall of Shun'an Palace. She was a nobody before, but after Concubine Yu got the Queen's Golden Book, she started to jump out.
Concubine Yu was the head of Shun'an Palace, and Concubine Xiao's actions were just to please her master.
It seems that there is someone else who is dissatisfied with Concubine Xian!
"Shut up, all of you."
Concubine Yu knelt in front of everyone and turned back to scold: "You are making a fuss in front of the Queen's coffin. Are you tired of living?"
Although this sentence was about two people, her eyes were only looking at Jiang Zhaoyi, as if she was warning her alone.
"Your Majesty, here you are--"
The concubines who were kneeling in a row under the mourning hall automatically separated into two sides to make way for the emperor.
The remaining concubine looked up and found Jiang Xinyue following behind the emperor, and she was filled with hatred.
Logically, she and Jiang Xinyue, one holding the phoenix seal and the other holding the golden book, should both be able to handle palace affairs.
But she can make decisions on trivial matters in the palace, but whenever there is any major event, the phoenix seal must be used to stamp it. It seems that she has become Jiang Xinyue's head female official,
who is responsible for doing chores for her. Even the funeral of the Empress, which Jiang Xinyue did not want to preside over, could have been handed over to her to take care of. She was happy to use this opportunity to let everyone see clearly who really cares about the Empress and is suitable to be the successor.
As a result, Jiang Xinyue said: "The rank of the concubine is too low, and she seems to be unqualified to preside over the funeral of the Empress."
The emperor handed the matter over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs arranged for a respected member of the royal family to handle it.
Jiang Xinyue, that bitch, killed the Empress, and she couldn't bear to see her well. The emperor had been blinded by that vixen.
Now that Jiang Xinyue is here, the first place where the concubine was kneeling just now should be given to her. Who made her the first of the four concubines and the legitimate concubine!
No matter how unconvinced the concubine was, she could only retreat to the back when she looked over.
Jiang Xinyue didn't even give her an extra look, she lifted her clothes and knelt upright in the first place.
The atmosphere in the mourning hall was solemn. Not long after, the Empress Dowager also arrived.
She and the Emperor were on the left and right, with a clear distinction between them. They were unwilling to maintain even the false appearance of a loving mother and a filial son.
After the concubines knelt down, the ministers who had not finished kneeling down in the past few days needed to come to the mourning hall to burn incense, so the concubines went to the back to rest.
Before leaving, Jiang Xinyue glanced at the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, and she felt that something must have happened between them.
The Empress Dowager frequently looked at the Emperor, as if she wanted to make peace, but the Emperor did not even look at her.
When the Empress Dowager looked over with resentment, Jiang Xinyue cleverly seized the opportunity, lowered her eyes, and pretended not to notice the estrangement between them.
Among this group of women, the Empress Dowager is the most honorable, but Jiang Xinyue is vaguely respected.
The concubines present had been in the palace for no less than two years, and knew a little bit about what they should and shouldn't know.
The discord between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had long been an open secret in the harem.
The back hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony had already been decorated, with cakes, fruits, and tea for the nobles and masters to enjoy.
The Longjing tea at hand exuded a faint fragrance, and several concubines and the Empress Dowager drank a few sips to quench their thirst.
Jiang Xinyue stared at the white smoke coming out of the Kirin incense burner, with no intention of drinking tea.
The Queen Mother suddenly attacked: "Someone, chop off the hands of the maid who made tea for Concubine Xian. She is useless and can't even do such a trivial thing as making tea. The tea she made is not to Concubine Xian's liking. What's the point of keeping her?"
"Bang!"
The little maid standing behind Jiang Xinyue trembled all over, knelt on the ground, and said in horror: "Queen Mother, spare my life!"
The nanny beside the Queen Mother was about to pull the little maid. Jiang Xinyue knew that she was targeting her, but she did not immediately plead for the little maid, but looked at Pei Wu behind the Queen Mother.
The girl, dressed simply and elegantly, pointed at the teacup, then pointed at the incense burner, and shook her head.
Jiang Xinyue immediately understood that there was no problem with drinking tea alone, and there was no problem with smelling the incense in the incense burner alone, but the problem would arise when the two were mixed together.
The ones closest to the incense burner were Concubine Yu and her concubine Xiao.
"Stop!"
"Bang!"
As the old maids and the young palace maids approached Concubine Yu, Jiang Xinyue smashed the cup in her hand heavily on the incense burner.
The cup exploded, accompanied by the exclamations of the concubines around. The tea in the cup mixed with the fragrance of the incense burner, exuding a faint strong tea fragrance.
Jiang Zhaoyi sniffed and felt that the smell was a bit strange, so she covered her nose and stepped back.
However, Concubine Yu screamed in shock. Instead of retreating, she took a few steps towards the incense burner, pulled at the hem of her clothes, and asked loudly: "Empress Xianfei, it would have been fine if you were late for the Empress' funeral, but now you are making a noise behind her mourning hall. Don't you respect the Empress too much? People like you...uh...uh..."
Concubine Yu's eyes became wider and wider, and she pointed at Jiang Xinyue in horror: "You..."
She tried hard to speak, but she couldn't utter a complete sentence in her throat. Her face turned red, the blue veins on her face were exposed, and her expression was terribly ferocious.
"Pah!"
"Bang!"
Immediately afterwards, several concubines around the incense burner experienced dizziness, headaches, and speechlessness to varying degrees.
Jiang Xinyue's action was beyond everyone's expectations. Even the Queen Mother did not expect her to suddenly get angry. She covered her nose and stepped back in fear.
Jiang Zhaoyi quickly walked to Jiang Xinyue's side and pulled her back: "This is a Western Region incense that will drive people crazy."
The concubine picked up a vase and threw it at Jiang Xinyue.
Behind Jiang Xinyue was the Queen Mother. She grabbed Jiang Zhaoyi and fell to the side. The vase exploded at the Queen Mother's feet with a "bang". The sharp fragments cut the Queen Mother's cheek, and she screamed in pain: "Someone come! Are they all dead? Hurry up and catch them for me, they are crazy."
In front, Emperor Xuanwu was also a little tired and was about to go back to the Qianqing Palace to rest. As soon as he stood up, a little eunuch ran over in a panic and whispered something in Wang Dequan's ear.
Wang Dequan opened his mouth in surprise, walked quickly to the emperor, and whispered a few words in his ear.
The emperor stood up and walked towards the back hall.
The remaining ministers looked at each other, wondering if something big had happened in the harem again.
The back hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was in a mess. Concubine Yu, Lady Xiao, and several poisoned concubines had all regained consciousness under the treatment of the imperial doctors.
Only Concubine Yu was so angry that the poison penetrated deeper into her body, so she still had some vomiting as a sequela.
She pointed at Jiang Xinyue and said, "Your Majesty, it must be Concubine Xian. She was the one who poisoned me and others. Your Majesty, please punish her severely."